Portrayal of Private William Webb, Civil
War Soldier of the 29th Connecticut Volunteers

Our next stop after
that battle, it was time for us to replenish.
Head to the back to get some more
cartridges and to try to rest.

Now in war, there is no such thing as rest. But we wanted to.

Now, Sergeant Alexander Newton who made this profound statement about enlisting
until the clanging of slave chains are heard no more; he loved fried chicken. I
could understand why. Because certainly the army wanted to give you something
called a ‘heart attack’.

Now, I want you to hear this. Can you imagine eating something that sounds like
this [clanging, clanging].
Oh, you’re not supposed to eat anything that sounds like this. [Clanging, clanging]
Oh, disgusting, horrible, terrible; didn’t want to eat it, but we had
to; it was given to us.

Kitchen
of "Soldier's Rest"

So, I understood why Sergeant Newton wanted the fried chicken. He wanted mashed
potatoes, or string beans or whatever it was. Not knowing if the next battle
was going to be his last; he wanted everything to remind him of home.